Best Nikon D5300 Lenses 2019

On October 2013, Nikon launched their most advanced mid-range DSLR camera and that’s the D5300. Build-wise, Nikon commonly follow the conventional metal chassis for their DSLR outer frame. But they disregard that for D5300 as they constructed a newly developed monocoque structure with carbon fiber reinforced plastic material for its body.

So, durability and compactness are the main advantages of Nikon D5300.

Performance-wise, D5300 was built with Nikon’s newest EXPEED 4 image processor, the first company DSLR that has a built-in Wi-Fi and GPS and has an excellent dynamic range.

Sounds too good to be true? If you haven’t used Nikon D5300 yet, you’ll think that it really was. But looking at its current standing on the market and users’ reviews, you’ll certainly change your mind as D5300 still maintain to be one of the leading mid-range DSLR cameras.

But if you’re using it already, you’re probably more concern on finding the best Nikon D5300 lenses.

On this day, D5300 has a total of 280 available lenses (both Nikon and Third-Party lenses) – 88 of it features an optical image stabilization, 59 of it has a weather sealing, while the rest is all native lenses. That’s a lot of lenses to consider!

Don’t worry, we’re not going to discuss all these lenses. We only focused on the lenses that Nikon designed for their D5300 camera. It still has numerous lenses to consider but we sort it to its best match.

Best Nikon D5300 Lenses 2018

How to determine if the lenses are compatible?

The simplest way to determine their compatibility is by checking D5300 supported lens mount type which is Nikon F lens. But D5300 isn’t limited to that mount type as it is compatible as well with lenses with mount type of Nikon AF-S, AF-I, and G.

What are the details to consider in choosing a lens?

Looking at the specification of D5300, it’s pretty overwhelming. There are tons of details on it and some of it you don’t even know what it’s for.

To save you time, the details you must prioritize to know and understand first are its weight, focal length, aperture range and the optical technology it has.

Lastly, what type of lens to choose – prime or zoom lens?

There’s a long-running debate when it comes to determining which of those are the best lens type for DSLR cameras.

Prime lenses only have a single focal length, while zoom lenses has a range of focal lengths. From this, you’ll immediately see that zoom lens is more versatile to use. But quality-wise, prime lenses deliver good quality images that are comparable to the result from a zoom lens.

So, the answer to this question is indefinite since it will depend on the need and line of work of the photographer. But in this article, we will review the best lenses for Nikon D5300 – zooms, primes, kit, telephoto, wide-angle, macro and standard lens.

The table below will show you the comparison of 9 of the best Nikon D5300 lenses.

Type of Lens

Lens Product

Weight

Maximum
Focal length

Aperture

Optic
Technology

Kit Lenses

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6G VR

0.58lb

55mm

3.5-5.6

VR, SIC & Hybrid AS

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140MM F/3.5-5.6G ED VR

1.08lb

140mm

3.5-5.6

VR, SIC & ED

Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Nikon 55-300mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR

1.28lb

300mm

4.5-5.6

VR, ED & HRI

Telephoto Prime Lenses

Nikon 85mm f1.8D

0.84lb

85mm

1.8

RF & SIC

Wide-angle Zoom Lenses

Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED

1.01lb

24mm

1.8

ED & SIC

Wide-angle Prime Lenses

Nikon 35mm f1.8G ED

0.67lb

35mm

1.8

ED, SIC & AS

Macro Prime Lenses

Nikon Micro-60mm f2.8G ED

0.94lb

60mm

2.8

N, ED & AS

Standard Zoom Lenses

Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR

0.58lb

55mm

3.5-5.6

VR, SIC & Hybrid AS

Standard Prime Lenses

Nikon 50mm f1.8D

0.34lb

50mm

1.8

SIC

Review of Best Product

1. Kit lenses

We’ll start this list with the kit lenses as it’s one of the first lenses you own when you bought a DSLR camera.

If you’re a professional, you’ll find the kit lenses as not helpful since it isn’t as advanced as the others. But for beginners, a kit lens is a good stepping stone to improve your skill.

This lens belongs to Nikon DX-Nikkor lens lineup that provides an enhanced shooting flexibility, features the company’s exclusive Silent Wave Motor (built-in) and applied Nikon’s Super Integrated coating to reduce ghosting and flare while offering a superior color reproduction on its image quality.

To ensure to always have sharper images while shooting, Nikon includes a Vibration Reduction with 3-stop advantage to D5300. Also, since this is a zoom lens, this lens has the capability for close-ups of up to 27cm.

The only disadvantage of this lens is, its’ build and mount are made from plastic. So, extra caution when using this lens is highly recommended.

This lens is a compact all-in-one zoom lens that’s capable of shooting from wide-angle (18mm) to telephoto (140mm). This lens also features Silent Wave Motor for ultra-fast and quiet autofocusing, and Super Integrated Coating.

Its only advantage to the lens above is its VR image stabilization has a 4-stop advantage and its optic is equipped with Extra-Low Dispersion glass that minimizes chromatic aberration, and aspherical lens element to virtually eliminates coma.

This is a zoom lens that’s capable of close-ups of up to 1.48-feet from your subject.

2. Telephoto Lens

The telephoto lens is a must-have if you’re into wildlife photography or shooting any subjects from far away that you’re not permitted to get a close contact. To immediately know if a certain lens is a telephoto lens, you can look at its focal lengths. If it’s longer than 70mm, it’s a telephoto lens.

Though kit lenses already have a telephoto capability, it still recommended having one because only a true telephoto lens can provide a sharply focused subject while increasing its’ size in the frame.

For D5300, the best telephoto lenses are Nikon 55-300mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR and Nikon 85mm f1.8D.

This is a telephoto zoom lens that has been equipped with some of the most advanced technologies that Nikon designed. D5300 is the first of its NIKKOR lineup that has High Refractive Index lens technology. With this, alongside with 2 Extra-low Dispersion glass elements, it will allow you to easily capture fast-moving subjects and zoom them up-close.

While the VR image stabilization will ensure sharpness on the captured images and HD video. D5300 also has a Silent Wave Motor and Super Integrated Coating.

The disadvantage that most users found in this lens are slower aperture at wide and tele end.

This is a medium-telephoto prime lens that’s compact and portable. It was designed with Rear Focusing system for a faster and smoother optical performance and a Super Integrated Coating.

Two of the reasons many photographers enjoy using this lens is: it creates an excellent bokeh and capable of shooting in any light condition. This is all because of its wide maximum aperture.

3. Wide-Angle Lens

In early years, to capture a wide range of subject (e.g. landscape), the photographer must take his/her camera backward just to get that perfect shot. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it anymore when the wide-angle lens has been invented.

For D5300, the best wide-angle lenses are Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 and Nikon 35mm f1.8G.

This lens is known for being Nikon’s best DX wide-angle zoom lens. Its equipped with 2 Extra-low Dispersion glass elements and 3 aspherical lens elements, Super Integrated Coating, and rounded 7-blade diaphragm.

Autofocusing-wise, this lens has been built with Silent Wave Motor and Internal focusing design for a faster and smoother autofocusing operation. Also, it’s covered angle of view is 109 degrees which are nearly close to a fisheye lens.

Overall, this lens can guarantee to deliver exceptional images with a creative touch on it. The only disadvantage of this lens has is having some distortion whenever being used at the wide end and low light situations.

If distortion is the disadvantage of the previous lens, you’ll never have that problem with Nikon 35mm f1.8G ED. For the reason of, this wide-angle prime lens has been equipped with Extra-Low Dispersion glass and an Aspherical element that works together to have a minimal distortion while maintaining the image’s contrast.

This lens is also built with a Silent Wave Motor, Super Integrated Coating, and rear-focusing system.

The disadvantages of this lens are it doesn’t have a weather seal, made mostly out of plastic and not budget-friendly.

4. Macro Lenses

Macro photography is a fun thing to do because you’re able to capture the beauty of a small object and make it bigger. The key to getting that perfect shot lies on the focal length of your lens. Macro lenses focal length range from 35mm to 200mm; and the ideal focal length is around 60mm to 90mm. This will result in a great magnification to your subject and at the same time, balancing it with some space.

For D5300, the best macro lens is Nikon Micro-60mm f2.8G EDlens. These macro prime lenses key features are: it has an anti-reflective coating that eliminates solves ghost effects caused by the red light; while reducing ghost and flare, Extra-Low Dispersion and Aspherical glass element, and Silent Wave Motor.

The good thing about this lens is, it’s not only good in macro photography but also in shooting landscapes or any wide-view subjects.

5. Standard Lenses

Portrait and candid shots are just some of the reason why many keep a good standard lens on their camera bag. The ideal focal length of a standard lens is around 50mm. So, it’s best to choose a standard lens with that focal length or close to it.

For D5300, the best standard lenses are Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G VR and Nikon 50mm f1.8D.

This is a standard prime lens that has been designed for the D-Type lens. D-Type lens design provides a distance information as part of the processing of flash and ambient light exposure. It also applied a multi-layer coating (SIC).

One advantage of this lens is it has a fast performance in low-light shooting, or almost in any lighting situations, without the need for a flash.

Its disadvantage is just like most of the other lenses, its body was built out of plastic material.

Conclusion

High-end, durable, versatile and user-friendly are the qualities you should look for in choosing the best Nikon D5300 lenses. Whilst all these lenses are tempting to own, you still need to choose what you need the most.

For beginners or hobbyist, we recommend the kit lens Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140MM F/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens. This is because its’ compact and flexible to use in different type of photography. Not to mention that it was built with Nikon’s exclusive Silent Wave Motor, VR image stabilization has a 4-stop advantage and Extra-Low Dispersion glass element.

But if your skill level is from intermediate to professional, we recommend the telephoto zoom lens Nikon 55-300mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR lens. We chose this because it’s a compact DX-format zoom lens that has been equipped with High Refractive Index lens element and Vibration Reduction Image stabilization II with 3-stop advantage.

This is good to use in photographing wildlife, landscape or any fast-moving and action-packed subjects that don’t permit you to have a close interference.